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Sunday, 14 April 2013

Echorer Dalna (Raw Jackfruit Curry)

Its Bengali new years eve. Every big and small festival for the Bengalis is marked by special preparations. New years eve is just another such occasion for indulgence. 'Chingri macher malaikari', 'Potoler dolma', 'Echorer Dalna','Kochi pathar kosha mangsho', 'Ful-kopir shingara', 'Rosho-malai','Malpoa' and the infamous 'Rashogolla' ....the list is never ending and so is a Bong's appetite.

The summer months bring with is an array of fresh vegetables which are unavailable in winter. Most of the summer vegetables are of my liking like the Potol (parwal), Jackfruit, Raw mango etc. In Kolkata the list goes longer but in the western part of the country its limited to a few only.

I am not too fond of ripe Jackfruit but I go totally ga-ga over the unripe version of it. Raw Jackfruit or Echor is also known as 'Gach Patha' in Bengal the literal translation of which means tree goat. Echor is actually cooked with the same spices as we would use to cook mutton and the curry also tastes like meat only. So vegetarians who want to enjoy the taste of mutton without actually having it can have this curry.

The cleaning process is bit messy and tedious. But the aftertaste of the curry is totally worth the effort.Before cutting the raw Jackfruit, place a newspaper below, oil the knife and your hands with mustard oil. Even oil the back of your hands. The Jackfruit secretes a sap which does not wash off easily and makes your hands black. Putting oil prevents these and also makes the cutting process easier. Also keep a lime slice handy. Cut the Jackfruit into horizontal circles and rub the lime where the sap starts coming out. This will liquify the sap and it will no longer be sticky. Then place the cut circles in water to avoid blackening. Now take the circles one by one and remove the outside skin and chop into small pieces and put back into the water.

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About Me

Folks, welcome to this small corner of the world which is my kitchen. I am a Bengali which by default makes me a certified connoisseur of food, but most of the time in kitchen I follow my own rules. Being poor at remembering the recipes I end up experimenting a lot with my food and still manage to keep it edible.

I am a software engineer by profession and a writer at heart. I love photography and travelling. Creativity is my forte. I hate being stereotype, so this space won’t be just limited to food ideas and recipes, but a lot more about the day to day unnoticed stories that goes into making that signature dish of yours. My blog is a humble attempt to present our culinary heritage to one and all and document traditional recipes which gets passed on through generations just by word of mouth.